020 | Finally

Calamno landed, and as always, he was wearing a magic robe that's composed of a bunch of dark shades. Is that simply Dark Elf fashion or just his preference?

I erected a small pebble with Earth Magic and launched it at Rudif. The pebble bonked his head and startled him. He was lying against a tree so he stood up and hit his head on a lower tree branch.

"Ow!"

"He's back", I told the mutt, "How was your trip, old man?"

"Tsk, you may have matured more but your personality is still rubbish. Show some respect to one of The Twelve Duke's!"

I showed him the respect he wanted, albeit, very sarcastically.

"Greetings, oh great Sorcerer of Magic, I humbly greet-"

"Just stop."

I cleared my throat, "So? Tell us the news already."

"Did someone die?", Rudif asked.

"No one died. Duke Wilfred has made his move."

Rudif and I both exchanged the same look.

"So the worst expected outcome really came..."

Calamno nodded his head slowly, "Naskac is not a nation you want to mess with. Our population is nowhere near a human nation's, despite that, our ratio of individuals who have awakened their ability to use magic is far greater."

I was surprised when Rudif added on to Calamno's evaluation, "Not only that...Almost everyone, even some of the children, has some grasp on Raw Energy."

I'm glad Rudif noticed that. We don't go to the capital much, but the times that we do, we often play a game where we compare two random strangers walking down the street to see who will win in a fight. This is a classic game I used to play with my disciples in my old world. It seems after all those games, Rudif developed a sense for those who have Raw Energy.

I do want to clarify that this is different from sensing magic power. Although Rudif can feel Raw Energy from others, it requires a visible and direct line of sight, otherwise, Rudif won't be able to judge the Raw Energy that resides in their bodies.

When it comes to sensing magic power, all you have to do is concentrate on your surroundings, feeling the mana that resides in every living organism. Every single person is born with mana, whether they can use it for magic is a different case.

I decided to get straight to the point with Calamno, "We're not guaranteed our lives if we stay any longer, right?"

Calamno nodded his head again, "That's right. It seems like you guys have already encountered some of the people on the Duke's side."

"Those guys were so weak!"

"They're meant to be weak, Rudif."

"W-what do you mean, Asher?"

"Duke Wilfred probably meant to evaluate our threat level. That's why he sent only one Commander with a few knights. Judging from their way of fighting, none of these guys have had much real combat experience at all."

"R-really?"

Sorry Rudif, I didn't want to tell you that.

"I'm not trying to belittle your fight against them. No matter how you look at it, you won against several opponents on your own. That's enough evidence to show me that you've grown stronger. As expected of my future transport- comrade."

Rudif punched the air in excitement and muttered to himself. He was cheering for himself

"Yessss!~", Was barely audible.

The old man spoke.

"As the kid said, Duke Wilfred was merely gauging your capabilities. Surely by now, the news would have returned that the people he sent here were defeated. If you stay here any longer, you'll be facing countless amounts of veterans. Dark Elves that have lived for at least a hundred years. All that time, they surely will have had some first-hand experience in wars. At the level you guys are at, you're probably only barely worthy to be cannon fodder."

Rudif did a complete 180 with his cheers, "F*ck!"

Calamno chuckled, "Though, because you guys defeated Duke Wilfred's men. He will believe that there are more threats to be handled when in reality, the "threats" will already be leaving Naskac. He will have then wasted resources and manpower, sending his troops to eliminate people who have already left the country."

I walked over to Rudif and helped him up. He still looked a bit butthurt. If I hadn't been in so many wars in my past life, I would probably feel the same. Don't worry, Rudif. Once you can transform into a large wolf, I'm going to have the time of my life.

I can just imagine riding a giant wolf into battle. It's like having a friend who can turn himself into a carriage that can also attack.

"Let's get out stuff and leave then."

Rudif nodded his head, "It's a shame we don't see Patricia and Rowan one last time."

Calamno gave us some words of assurance, "Don't worry. With the two of them together, their chances of dying are quite literally zero. I'll pass on your regards to the both of them."

"Thanks, old man."

"Anything for a friend.", Calamno grinned.

I sighed, "Of course."

That was enough to satisfy him. He grabbed something inside his inner robe pockets and instantly teleported away. I'd probably guess that he had already set up a spell to return him to where he was before coming here.

In about a little under half an hour, I stored a few bags worth of essential items such as clothing, food, and water for a while, and some tools inside my inventory. We were in and out of the mansion in no time. We flipped a coin to decide which direction we were going to be heading in.

"This place has...quite the sentimental value."

Rudif agreed, "I'll miss this place..."

"Cheer up, mutt, we're going to be back soon."

"Asher. Do you really believe we will be of any use once we come back?"

"We'll see."

Truth be told, we're nothing but hindrances if we return too quickly. My goal before I return to Naskac is to have broken at least one more of my twelve seals.

I broke through the fourth seal while training under Calamno to get my mana fully controlled. A great portion of power returned to me, and if it's truly exponential as Alpha stated, then the fifth seal will return to me double the amount I received from the fourth.

* * *

"C-can we take a break already?"

Rudif was breathing heavily while keeping up with me.

"I'm so...TIRED!!"

"Nonsense, aren't you a Half-Beast? How are you getting bested by me?"

"You're not a human! You're an absolute monster!"

"I don't think so, if anything, you're the one who can eventually transform into my personal transport-"

"What?"

"Giant brown wolf."

Rudif stared at me as we were running through the forest aimlessly in one direction. The mutt has gotten a bit sharper. I'll divert the topic.

"Mutt, time for a quiz, where do you think we're headed to?"

Rudif avoided my gaze and pretended not to hear. This little piece of-

"Y-Yanalia?"

Oh? I'm surprised he remembered something from Patricia's geography lessons.

"That's right."

"W-wait, really?!"

Never mind, the mutt was just taking a guess.

"Fine, let's take a break up ahead. I see a paved road, if we're lucky, we can get a ride from a passing carriage. It's going in the right direction as well."

Rudif was extremely excited for the break. So much so, he sprinted at full speed and passed me. I thought this mutt said he was tired. Someone's going to be getting an extra round of beatings.

The two of us made it to a dry and paved mud path in the middle of the forest. The path had marks of a carriage passing through, evidence of that deduction is from the fresh lines on the path.

We headed back a little bit and made ourselves comfortable. We found a few stumps that were near each other and sat down.

"You look so happy now that you're sitting down."

"We were running at full speed for a few hours already!"

"It would be better to get as much distance as we can before night comes. Plus, it's good training for Raw Energy."

"I guess...Say, you never did tell me about your inventory spell."

"It's nothing special, just...the cheaper alternative to the one Rowan showed me."

"Does it store less than Rowan's?"

"No, it's essentially a small bit of space in a separate dimension where time flows a few thousand times slower than reality."

"D-doesn't that require some Time Magic spells?"

"I've already learned all the magic from the books the mansion has. What do you think happened in eight years?"

"Still...I can't really apply magic in combat right now but...I know Time Magic requires an insanely high mastery of mana control. They say that even those in the Sorcerer's Guild have trouble using it."

"Ah, the Guild."

"With your achievements, you can definitely get a high-ranking position with them! You can-"

"No."

Rudif paused for a second, "Why?"

Because I want to be free in this life. I would rather not tie myself up with any organizations that have the power to command my next actions. Now I'm not saying I won't join ANY group. The fewer restrictions they are able to place upon me, the better.

"How is she doing?"

Rudif took off the brown backpack that he was carrying. He unzipped the largest pouch and peeked inside.

"Rabbit's doing fine. We poked plenty of holes for her to breathe, don't worry."

"I'm glad."

The mutt had a puppy-like expression, "Are you more worried about the rabbit than me??"

Nice try.

"Absolutely."

"Not even a slight ounce of hesitation to-"

Before Rudif could finish his sentence, we overheard a woman's screams.

"SOMEONE HELP US!!"

Rudif got up and immediately faced the direction of the screams. I appeared in front of him before he could go off on his own.

"Rudif."

"Asher! Get out of my way! I have to-"

"Help her? Have you forgotten about how Half-Beasts are treated as slaves in Yanalia? They are nothing more than tools. What will happen after you save them? How do you know they're not the same nobles objectifying your entire race?"

"I know that! But still...I have to help them! Everyone is given a life, we're all the same in that sense. If I save them, perhaps...maybe...they can have a different view on Half-Beasts."

"There's something you fail to realize. However, I never said I was against you."

Rudif's face lit up. Before we continue, I figured something like this would be helpful.

I put my hand on Rudif's shoulder and applied a Transformation spell on him. His brown tail wrapped around his waist and faded away. His brown hair became blackened, I decided to keep his brown eyes the same. Now, he looked like a young commoner with a good physique.

I mean, if anything, I'll just tell people that he's MY slave.

"Let's go. Leave the backpack here."

Rudif carefully placed down the backpack.

I gestured him to follow me and we jumped up and dashed from branch to branch of the tall trees.